


Stronger Than They Know

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: FT - Gen [6]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Blood and Injury, Family, Friendship, Gen, Having Faith, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Protectiveness, Raijinshuu - Freeform, Strength, Team as Family, thunder god tribe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 06:37:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16511183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Freed is a lot stronger than most people realise, especially when it comes to protecting his teammates. But sometimes even the leader needs taking care of.





	Stronger Than They Know

    Freed bit his lip as he was shoved forward, barely resisting the urge to just take the guards down now and he had to forcefully move his fingers away from the sword that had just been returned to him. _Fools._ He knew that if they really knew who he was, and what he was really capable of, that there was no way they would have returned his weapon to him yet, but that was the point. He needed them to underestimate him. It was why’d been playing the role of the weakest of their team, allowing Evergreen and Bickslow to take the foreground when they had allowed themselves to be captured. An act that wasn’t really an act, but it seemed to have done the job as their captors had decided to save them for the ‘big event’, whilst it seemed like they were going to get rid of Freed whilst they could, and his lips quirked up into a small smirk as he kept his head bowed, eyes darting from side to side as he took in the layout of the place.

    Their job was to rescue the guild mages that had been disappearing in the area over the past few months, and their investigations had led them to what had turned out to be an underground fighting ring where the prisoners were being used for entertainment. It had been tempting to just blast the place apart, and if Laxus had been with them they might well have gone with that plan, but there was too much of a risk that they would injure the very people they were supposed to be rescuing. So, they had taken the riskier road of letting themselves be captured, the name of their guild easily attracting the wrong type of attention and they had barely been in the town two days before the people running the ring had come from them. The hardest part had been letting themselves get captured as it went against the grain, but they had resisted the urge to do too much damage, and now they just had to work out how to get themselves and everyone else out of here, and then take down their captors.

    The last part was going to be a pleasure, Freed thought irritably as he was jabbed in the side yet again, even though he had been nothing but obedient and he raised his head slightly to shoot a baleful look at the guards leading him to the pit, only to wince as the same polearm was rapped against his cheek. _I will take great pleasure in taking you down,_ he thought with more than a hint of venom even as he took the hint and lowered his head once more, noting that the ground beneath his feet was slowly shifting from concrete to sand and he took a deep breath. _They were close_. This was the part that had the biggest chance of going wrong, because just because they thought him weak didn’t necessarily mean they were going to go easy on him, and he knew that Bickslow and Evergreen had been more worried about that than they had let on when he was dragged out of the cage.

_It doesn’t matter. Whatever they throw at me, I’ll handle it…_

    He found himself having to blink hard as he was shoved out into a small arena, the sudden sunlight after the semi-darkness of their prison hurting his eyes and he hissed a curse as he waited for his vision to clear. When it did, he sucked in a breath. _Damn…_ It looked like the ring was a lot more established than they had thought. The area was a vast space, but more worrying was the sheer number of spectators gathered in the stands. He knew that some of them were probably unaware of what was going on below the surface of this spectacle, fooled into thinking the mages were willing participants, but a good number of them would be fully aware of what was going on.

_This might be harder than I thought…_

**

   Evergreen and Bickslow in the meantime had seized the opportunity to examine their cell, exchanging amused glances when they realised that aside from the anti-magic restraints they were wearing the cage itself was weak. That had been one of their concerns as they had been unable to get a good read on how secure the arena and its prison area were before letting themselves get dragged down there, but Freed had been confident that their captors would rely more on magical suppressants than anything else and it seemed that he had been right. And they could feel the runes he had cast around their ankles and wrists before they were captured, ready to be released as soon as the time was right.

“So now we wait,” Bickslow concluded as he settled himself back on the ground, only the way his fingers were tapping against his knee showing that he was concerned about the fact that Freed had been dragged off a few minutes ago, and only Evergreen knew that simple gesture meant that he was more than ready to blow this place apart if anything happened to their teammate.

“Looks like it,” she agreed with a sigh as she settled down beside him, grimacing slightly at the dusty floor before turning her gaze towards the main entrance to the holding area and eying up the guards stood there. It would be so easy to blast their way out, but Freed had told them to wait and she trusted his judgement more than her own in situations like this. Especially as more than once she and Bickslow had got a little overenthusiastic and it had been their Captain who’d had to mop up the mess, so this time they had both promised to follow his lead.

“Shouldn’t you be more worried about your friend?” A soft voice asked, and they glanced across at the woman huddled in the next cell, a Sand mage from Lamia Scale who had apparently been one of the first ones taken, her body covered in filthy, tattered bandages indicating just how much time she had spent in the ring. And her face was a mask of grief as she added softly. “The weak ones don’t last long in the ring…” Blue eyes widened in consternation when rather than looking worried at her words, Evergreen had let out a soft chuckle. “What?”

“Freed isn’t weak,” Evergreen answered with a smirk, relaxing back against the wall as she glanced at Bickslow whose usual grin had reappeared. It was the one reason they had agreed to this crazy plan in the first place because they knew just how strong Freed was, and that he would do whatever it took to make sure that all of them got out of this in one piece.

_I will protect this team…_

    The promise he had made after Laxus had been exiled echoed in her mind and her smirk gave way to a soft smile. “He’s stronger than most people realise.”

“There’s a reason why he’s our Captain,” Bickslow continued cheerfully, not bothered in the slightest that some of the other prisoners who were listening into the conversation were now looking at the pair of them with pitying eyes, clearly thinking they were in denial. “If they thought they were choosing our weakest link they’ve made a huge mistake.” Generally Freed preferred to be in the background, allowing them to be the flashier members and it wasn’t the first time that their opponents had been fooled by the act, allowing themselves to believe that the Rune mage wasn’t that dangerous. _A dangerous belief,_ the Seith mage thought with a smirk as he glanced across at Evergreen. They had both made the same mistake in the past, but now they knew better, and they knew just how strong their Captain could be when he really got going. Not that that knowledge completely erased their concern and his expression sobered a little as his gaze drifted back to the entrance.

_You better be okay Freed._

****

   Apparently being considered the weakest wasn’t such a good thing, Freed was quickly coming to realise as he took in the opponents he was facing. Rather than pitting him against the other prisoners, he was facing a group of illegal mages, and he sighed as he realised that the point of this exercise was to excite the crowd by giving them easy bloodshed. _Monsters…_ Of course what his captors hadn’t allowed for was the fact that he had no intention of going down without a fight, and he rose to his full height as they finished removing his magical repressing cuffs, relieved that they were at least showing him that much mercy as it would have cost him valuable time to remove them himself.

“Don’t die too quickly now.” Was the useful advice they tossed in his direction before leaving him to his feet, and his lips curled up in a snarl. _Believe me, I won’t._ Turning his attention back to his opponents he let his gaze drift across them, his mind sinking into battle mode as he gripped the hilt of his sword and held it at the ready, although he made no move to unsheathe it yet.  None of them looked particularly strong, but he wasn’t fooled by that, and even if they were lacking in magical strength, their numbers could be a problem. There was half a dozen at the moment, but his sharp eyes had spotted movement in the other entrance, and he had a feeling that there was more waiting in the wings.

“Come,” he ordered softly as he readied his sword, noticing that his calmness had unsettled them slightly and he wanted to roll his eyes at the reaction.   _I will teach you to underestimate the Raijinshuu,_ deciding that he had shown them enough courtesy he charged, runes dancing in front of him as he moved and he had already closed the distance between them before they realised what was happening. _Idiots,_ his sword was a blur in his hands as he finally drew it. “Dark Écriture: Destruction!” He heard at least one of the mages crying out and falling from the attack, but he couldn’t tell the extent of the damage as his vision as obscured by sand as the other mages finally shook of their shock and attacked, pure luck guiding him out of the oath of their first attacks before he found himself on the defensive as he realised that his suspicion that there were more to come was proven right. _Damn…_

_Ever…Bickslow just wait a little longer…_

**

    Their previous calmness was beginning to evaporate as time went on, although they were doing their best to keep up a front as they felt the curious eyes from the other prisoners watching their every move after their earlier confidence. Eventually though Evergreen shifted closer to Bickslow, pressing against him as though seeking extra warmth and reaching up so that she could whisper in his ear.

“Shouldn’t he have activated them by now?” She asked shifting her hand slightly to indicate the runes hidden out of sight beneath the restraints. The plan had been for Freed to keep the main force occupied upstairs so that they could focus on getting the prisoners out first before joining him, but they couldn’t act until he activated the runes to rid them of their restraints, and she was sure they had been waiting too long. _What if something’s happened?_ She had the upmost faith in his abilities, but they were all aware of how easy it was for a job to go awry, and neither they nor Fairy Tail had the best of luck when that happened.

“Possibly,” Bickslow replied still grinning, but his fingers were tapping against his leg once more, and she reached out to still his hand. “We can’t do anything about it until he removes them.” There was a trace of irritation that only she could make out in his voice, unsurprising as she knew that he hated being forced to stand aside whilst their teammate was fighting, and she tightened her hold on his hand even as she turned her gaze back to the entrance.

_Freed…_

**

    He had been correct about the skill level of his opponents, but as he had predicted their numbers were making it harder than he’d hoped, and it didn’t help that his captors. and the audience clearly weren’t impressed that their expectation of an easy battle was being shredded. Whilst he had dealt far more damage than he had received, he could feel blood trickling from half a dozen cuts, and he was beginning to breathe heavily as he dodged another attack and risked a glance around. There were still more coming at him and he snarled, apparently, they had cottoned onto the fact that he wasn’t just a simple captive and his hope of taking out as many as possible before dragging his team into the fray wasn’t going to pan out. As much as he wanted to deal with it himself, he could feel his movements had slowed slightly, and once he initiated the next stage his magic was going to be significantly drained which meant that he couldn’t wait any longer.

    Bringing his sword up to parry a spear that was heading towards him, he used his free hand to hastily write the runes that would free Bickslow and Evergreen, followed by the ones that would initiate the last part of their plan. At once he felt the drain on his magic, and he struggled to force his opponent back, although the mage stumbled back with a startled cry as a purple light engulfed the entire stadium.

“What is that?!”

“It’s your turn to be in a cage,” Freed replied grimly. It had been a risky plan, but he had managed to get close enough to the place before they’d been captured to write a cage that wouldn’t let anyone but those that Bickslow and Evergreen marked as safe escape. What he hadn’t anticipated was the sheer number of people that he was going to be trapping, and he knew that it wouldn’t hold up that long. _Hurry up you two,_ he thought as the crowd began to panic as they realised what was happening, and he winced as he felt people already hammering on the barrier.

“Kill him!” The sharp order drew his attention back to the situation at hand, and he cursed his distraction as the spear he’d blocked previously drew a line of blood down his cheek. Pushing the pain aside he charged, relying on his sword more than his magic as he knew that he needed to hold up the barrier for as long as possible.

_Hurry…_

**

    Bickslow and Evergreen were on their feet the moment the runes had flared to life against their skin, the magical restraints falling away with a dull clang that attracted the attention of their guards. Unfortunately for them, Evergreen wasn’t willing to offer them any chances, not when the length of time it had taken Freed to free them was worrying then both, and they had barely moved a couple of steps towards the cage before she caught them with her stone eyes.  And by the time she had her glasses back in place, Bickslow had already broken through the bars of their cage, no sign of his usual grin to be seen as he moved on to let the others out.

“Go to Freed, I can handle things here,” Evergreen ordered as she caught up with him, pushing past and setting to work removing the restraints from the newly freed prisoners, shushing them when they began to celebrate and try to thank them. Whilst the rest of their captors seemed to be wherever their captain was, she didn’t want to risk unnecessary trouble, and thankfully their months of captivity seemed to have sharpened their cautiousness as they immediately quietened and she frowned as she glanced at her partner who was visibly hesitating as he looked between her and the entrance.

“But…”

“Go,” She reiterated with a scowl, well aware that he was probably even more worried than she was at the moment. “I can get the others out, I’m better with the runes than you are anyway.” That was true, and she could see that realisation swaying him and a moment later he had nodded his head, offering her a small grin of gratitude before turning and heading for the door, although he paused to call quietly back to her.

“Be careful or Freed will have my head!”

“Likewise,” Evergreen returned with a fond smile, well aware that whilst there was an element of joking to their words, their green-haired leader really would have their heads if anything happened to either of them. Of course, they returned that feeling just as strongly, and she had a feeling that the idiot was going to be in for one hell of a scolding when they caught up with him. She knew what he was like, especially on jobs like this, and she knew that the delay had probably been more to do with him trying to limit the danger to them, than actual difficulties.

_Idiot…_

****

    Bickslow had heard panicked voices and fighting long before he reached the arena, but he had still come to a halt in the gateway when he first got a good look at what was going on. _Damn…_ This was a lot more than they had been told about, and he scowled at that thought before quickly searching for the familiar head of green hair. His heart shooting into his throat as he spotted the Rune mage just in time to see him falling to one knee. At once he was moving, sending a flare of magic into the air as he had been ordered, hoping that Freed’s message had got through to the Rune Knights and that they had taken it seriously, as the council had a bad habit of ignoring warnings from Fairy Tail and then he was moving with single minded focus towards Freed.

_Freed…_

*

   Freed’s world had narrowed down to the pattern of parrying attacks and trying to take down as many mages as he could, aware that he wouldn’t be able to keep it up much longer as the barrier was draining his energy faster than he had thought it would. _Hurry,_ he thought with a hint of desperation as he felt another blast nick his side, spinning him around and he expected to find himself hitting the ground, only to blink in surprise as a strong arm caught him and kept him upright, and it took him a moment to realise that it was Bickslow.

“About time…”

“We were waiting for you,” Bickslow retorted, downing the mage that was trying to sneak up on them before glancing down at Freed, eyes narrowing as he caught the sweat beading the other’s head and comprehension dawned as his gaze darted to the barrier that had begun to flicker above them. “Let it down, I’ve sent the signal so the Knights should be here any moment.” _I hope,_ he added silently unable to shake his doubts about that, doubts that Freed obviously shared at the Rune mage was clearly hesitant about releasing the runes.

“But…”

“Release it!” He cut across the weak protest, knowing that there was no way that Freed could continue to hold the battier up and fight, and right now defending himself was more important than anything. Not waiting for a reply whirled around with a snarl, activating the last of Freed’s rune traps that had been written on his skin and releasing his dolls that had been hidden from their captors. “Freed!” He shouted when he realised that Freed had moved to cover his back without releasing the barrier, and he used his dolls to clear the immediate space around them before whirling back to glare at Freed, his tone dropping to the low, stern tone that Laxus had always used to get the stubborn Rune mage to obey. “Release them now! You’re only hurting yourself now!” It was clear that Freed still wasn’t happy about it, but his defiance crumpled under the stern tone and with a sigh he released the barrier, wobbling as he did so and Bickslow moved to steady him.

    They could already see some of their captors and the audience heading for the exits, and hearing Freed’s worried noise the Seith mage shot him a stern look, silently warning him to stay put before taking off after them. He had barely managed to take out the stragglers among the fleeing mages before he heard horns blowing beyond the arena, and a moment later he caught sight of the unfortunately familiar uniform of the Rune Knights beginning to push their way inside. _They came._ He probably shouldn’t have been as shocked as he felt, and he knew that Freed probably wouldn’t be happy if he knew how much the Seith mage had doubted them.

Freed…

    Deciding that the council could handle the worst of it he turned on his heels, dashing back towards where he had left Freed, cursing the dust that all the fighting was generating that was stopping him from clearly being able to see his teammate.

“Freed!” Bickslow shouted as he finally made it back to his teammate, relieved to see that he was still upright and awed despite himself to realise that he was stood in the midst of a group of fallen mages. _I should have known…_

   He’d meant it earlier when he had talked about strong the Rune mage was, but it was always harder to remember when they were in the midst of battle and he tended to throw himself into the worst situations to protect them. _Idiot,_ he closed the last of the distance between them, eager to check that there were no serious injuries, immediately finding himself slinging an arm around Freed when he swayed worryingly, expression darkening as he took in just how battered the Rune mage was, and he shared a worried look with Evergreen who had come running across to join them, carelessly trampling over the downed mages to get to them. He didn’t bother asking about the other prisoners, well aware that she wouldn’t be there if they weren’t safe as Freed would have their heads if they didn’t complete that job before coming to him.

“I’m all right,” Freed muttered as he tried to draw himself back up to his full height, wincing as the movement tugged on his injuries and after a moment he admitted defeat and allowed himself to slump against Bickslow for support.  “Mostly…” He added sheepishly as he slowly sheathed his sword, even that movement exhausting at this point although he did his best to hide that from his teammates as he caught the worried look they had just shared.

“Sure, you are,” Bickslow retorted with a hint of exasperation, aware that Freed had a bad habit of trying to pretend that he was doing better than he was, although thankfully both he and Evergreen had got better at spotting when he wasn’t doing so well. Not that it took much effort today as there were several spots of crimson staining his clothes, and his skin had taken on a worryingly pale tone, and he tightened his arm protectively around the smaller man. “Come on captain I think our work here is done.”

“But…”

“Freed you’ve done enough,” Evergreen cut across him, fixing him with a stern glare until he sighed and nodded in defeat, realising that for the time being he was being stripped of his leadership, and as exhaustion washed over him he couldn’t bring himself to mind. Although there was a hint of trepidation as he caught the stern expressions on their faces as they began to guide him out of the chaos, sighing as he realised that he was probably in for one hell of a lecture once they were sure he wasn’t going to collapse on them. He might be the leader in theory, but right now he felt like little more than a naught child facing punishment, but with their arms wrapped around him in support, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

 


End file.
